Bolton says US ready to negotiate post-Brexit trade pact

U.S. National security adviser John Bolton, attends a conference of more than 50 nations that largely support Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019. Bolton says the U.S. will target anybody at home or abroad who supports the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with stiff financial sanctions. Bolton spoke a day after the Trump administration announced a new round of sweeping measures aimed at pressuring Maduro from office. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

LONDON (AP) — The United States is ready to negotiate a post-Brexit trade deal with the U.K. “in pieces” to help speed the process as Britain prepares to leave the European Union on Oct. 31, National Security Adviser John Bolton said Monday.

Bolton told reporters after meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London that a piecemeal approach to trade negotiations was “not unprecedented” and talks between the U.S. and the U.K. could start with areas where the two sides are likely to agree.

“I think here we see the importance and urgency of doing as much as we can agree on as rapidly as possible,” he said.

Johnson’s office said the prime minister and U.S. President Donald Trump’s adviser “spoke about Brexit and a range of other issues – including Iran, Hong Kong and 5G” network security.

Bolton suggested that discussing issues such as U.S. sanctions on Iran and a ban of Chinese tech giant Huawei could wait until after Brexit.

British newspapers reported in May thatthe U.K. National Security Council, which meets in private, had agreed to let Huawei participate in some aspects of Britain’s new 5G wireless communications network.

The United States has been lobbying Britain and other allies to exclude Huawei from their 5G networks, insisting that the Chinese government could force the tech company to give it backdoor access to data.

But the British government has insisted no decision has been made about the use of Huawei’s equipment in the U.K.

Bolton said it was an honor for him to meet with Johnson.

“We have a strong commitment to deepening the U.S-UK Special Relationship and working together to address global security issues,” Bolton said in a tweet.

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